Ogliastra

My last trip to Sardinia was based around Cala Ganone, a popular and well known climbing destination. For this one Dave, Chris and I moved slightly south to the Ogliastra region.

To be fair we didnt have much of an idea what the difference would be. I understood from an article on UKC about Ogliastra that it was less developed and felt wilder and so it proved.

The mountains around Jerzu

Cala Ganone has a high concentration of climbs within a relatively small area, great if you want your climbing easily accessible. Ogliastra too has some really conveniently located crags just a short walk from the road such as Villagio Gallico or Porto Santa Maria, but it also has a number of mountain locations within a reasonable striking distance such as Ulassai Canyon or Issola del Tesoro.

Noticeably the crags feel quieter, although we had company on most days. For the three of us there were plenty of routes in our grade range from 5c to 6a+ and we all remarked on the fact that Ogliastra Routes had more character. We did some great routes, many of which were a bit different to straight up bolted climbs and featured cracks and traverses.

View from the top of Pedra Longa

While I am not averse to trying to crimp or crank through hard face climbs, I also like variety and this was to be found in abundance. Of the two areas, Ogliastra shades it and our accommodation at the Lemon House proved to be the icing on the cake. Peter and Ann are welcoming and provided us with loads of useful tips. We also found it nice to be with other people rather than just our normal gang, so breakfast was always something to look forward to when you could chat to the other guests about your previous days exploits.